First Day of School!

Okay - before I tell you what a fiasco the first day of school was let me remind you to withhold your judgement on how unstable I am while you remember that my oldest went into junior high and my baby went into kindergarten....and yes, I am a bit unstable!

So we get up early and all goes well. We get to school at 7:15. First we go to the junior high to get Matthew's schedule. Then we go to the elementary school to drop Kaleb off. Matthew sees Josh who asks if Matthew can go with him to the junior high to pick up Josh's schedule. I say sure, not thinking to say good bye - have a good day - go spend your day with a bunch of teenagers in a new school - nothing. So I see Keli and her girls. We drop Kaleb and Abby off in Mrs.Brown's room. We are so glad they're in the same class. Smooth sailing (or the calm before the storm). I then walk with her to take Ali to junior high. (let me interrupt myself and say that when Matthew and I got his schedule there was no one in the junior building but one other parent and 2 teachers - nice quiet building - nothing to be fearful of...back to the story) So Keli and I walk in with Ali and oh my - there are millions (okay - like 100 but it seemed like millions) of huge, sweaty, scary teenagers (okay - so not sooo huge, not sweaty at all, but still a little scary) in the hallways. Instantly Keli and I look at each other and begin to cry. Keli says "This is worse than kindergarten", which reminds me that I have to take Benjamin, who is holding my hand as I cry, to kindergarten in a few minutes. So we walk down the 6th grade hall and I see Matthew. I really start to cry. I'm not making noises YET, just tears rolling down my face. Matthew looks at me and has a panicked look - maybe she knows something I don't know. I try to act cool but it doesn't work. He gets sympathy tears in his eyes and I think "Oh, great, now he'll get beat up in junior high for tearing up on the first day". So I hug him then Josh says "Let's go Matthew". Josh saves me from any further embarrassment. Keli and I tell them we love them then cry all the way outside. She tells me she's so sorry I now have to go to kindergarten...

So on to kindergarten. Well, let's just say that by the time Benjamin and I made the short walk to the primary building the tears were no longer just streaming down my face. I was in shoulder shaking catch your breath mode. When I get in the building and see Rusty standing outside Mrs.Ham's door I fall apart (yes, it can get worse) - I am now sobbing, making noise, and drawing attention from perfect strangers who ask me if I'm going to be okay. I have snot running down my face and I can't even speak. Do I look like I'm okay!!! NO! So I tell Rusty I can't do this - Benjamin and I are going home. Benjamin sits in his desk, looks up to me, and starts to cry. He has a look like "She knows what is about to happen to me. She is crying because she knows they are going to tape me to my seat and torture me. She knows this is our last good bye." It was so sad, really. So Rusty tells me I must leave. Leave you say - oh I don't think so! Yes, he says, you are making this terrible for him. Leave now. No way, I say - I have to tell him bye and kiss him. No, he says, you will leave this room now. For goodness sake - you teach him Music in 2 hours! Okay - so I go into the hall while Rusty promises Benjamin a fabulous toy if he'll not cry and be big for me b/c I'm obviously not doing so great. As I go in the hall people are hugging me and saying they are so sorry. I realize that I look like I've lost a family member. I know I look ridiculous but I cannot gain my composure to save my life. It is just pathetic. I finally stop the shoulder shaking sobs long enough to peek my head in and tell Benjamin to have a great day.

Later that day I tell Rusty that I am so sad that the boys are growing up and ask him if please, could we adopt a baby. He says, "Are you crazy - so we can go through this again in 5 years? I don't think so!!"

Houston/Galveston trip

My Aunt Karen (who I love dearly) had a stroke in the beginning of August. Uncle Richard said she was doing fine but I wanted to see for myself so Rusty and I decided to take a trip to The Woodlands to see her in the hospital. We thought we'd do some fun stuff while we were there as a "last summer thing before school starts". Uncle Richard was right. She looked good. It was a bad stroke but she has good doctors and she has worked very hard. An update is that she got to go home yesterday!! And she said she won't even need the walker. I am so thankful that she is okay.
After seeing Aunt Karen we took the boys to Galveston to see the beach. No, Galveston isn't the prettiest beach in the world but the ocean is the ocean and the boys were thrilled. And it was fun for me to remember times in high school and college that I spent in those waters with my friends. The boys had a blast playing in the waves (which were so big), finding shells, and making a huge mess in the sand.
The next day we took the boys to Schlitterbahn Galveston. It was awesome!! Perfect weather, no crowds, our hotel was right by Schlitterbahn. As we were riding in the lazy river (which isn't lazy - the water is really fast) in our tubes I noticed that across from Schlitterbahn is The Children's Hospital. I looked around at my kids having a blast in the water and was overcome with gratitude that I was on this side of the road. I get caught up in things that I deem "important" and get frustrated over stupid things and I was reminded that God has graciously given me three healthy, precious boys. There were parents in Children's Hospital fighting for their children's lives as we floated carelessly through the water. I appreciate God for refocusing my mind to the bigger picture. I have a great life and I appreciate it.
When we got in the van to leave Schlitterbahn there were several voicemails. That made me nervous. My dad left a message that my Uncle Doug (who lives in Clear Lake) had had a heart attack the night before. Now, I love my Uncle Doug. He is smart and funny and an excellent conversationalist. We went back to the hotel and changed out of our swim suits and headed to The Houston Medical Center - downtown. I was so pleased with what I saw. He looked good and it wasn't as bad as they thought. They didn't have to do surgery. The medications worked and he didn't spend too many days in the hospital. I am so thankful that we were so close when it happened so I could go see him.
While we were in Uncle Doug's hospital room my cell phone rang. I didn't answer it. I saw that is was from a friend in Harleton and I figured I'd call her back on the way back to the hotel. Then it rang again - a different Harleton friend. I figured something had happened. I answered it. One of our close friends, Wayne, had had a heart attack and was scheduled for a quadruple bypass the next morning. I just couldn't believe it. I called Carolyn (Wayne's wife) and told her we'd be there the next day. So we headed home the next day. It's been over 2 weeks since the surgery and Wayne is doing well. It took his toll but he is a tough ole boy. God is healing him daily.
So that's our crazy trip ! I'll post pictures later. I have to figure out how to set up my card reader to this laptop. Again, I'm not so computer savvy!!

I AM SO GLAD TO BE BACK ONLINE!!

Wow! You don't realize how much you use the computer until yours is messed up! Our wireless internet card was messed up so we couldn't get online. I finally got another one a couple of days ago. I have so many things to update you on. I guess I'll do each topic in a new post to make it easier to read...